On Jan. 22, in its first update in over a decade, Health Canada released the latest update for “healthy eating” and anything dairy was largely absent.

In the updated guide, ‘milk and alternatives’ and ‘meat and alternatives’ were removed as a stand-alone food group.

According to Health Canada, the amended food guide recommends fruits and vegetables to make up half of any meal in a day.

In addition, the food guide suggests Canadians choose protein from plants rather than animals.

“Certainly in the picture of the composite plate you’ve got, ah, yogurt – that’s right there in the protein group,” said Dr. Hasan Hutchinson, director general of Health Canada’s office of nutrition policy and promotion.

Gone are the days of the rainbow composite of four food groups consisting of fruit and veg, grain products, dairy and meat.

Health Canada also removed the recommendations for specific portions and serving of different foods. Rather, the updated guide lists foods Canadians are encouraged to eat on the regular (and which ones to limit).

In the new food guide, there is a large emphasis on higher proportions of plant-based foods. Canadians are also advised to replace foods with high saturated fat (cream, high fat cheese, butter) with unsaturated fats (nuts, seeds, avocados).

According to Health Canada, diets higher in vegetables and fruits can be linked to lower risks of cardiovascular disease. In addition, Health Canada recommends eating more nuts or soy protein, which can help improve blood fat levels, while warning that eating processed meat is linked to higher risks of colorectal cancer.

Water is the recommended “beverage of choice” in the updated food guide, as it helps with hydration and has no calories.

As the new recommendation is to limit dairy and red meat consumption, it is a drastic change from 2007’s food guide.

Comparatively, in the old guide, Canadians were advised to consume two to three servings of meat a day and two to three servings of milk.

This change causes tension with the dairy sector, as Dairy Farmers of Canada insist that there is “no scientific justification to minimize the role of milk products” in the Canadian diet.

They insist that two to four serving of milk products daily can help promote bone and muscle health.

“Lumping milk products together with other protein foods will lead to inadequate intakes of important nutrients,” the Dairy Farmers of Canada’s Isabelle Neiderer, a registered dietitian, said in a recent statement.

The organization has warned that any drastic change would be harmful while the sector is still dealing with concessions granted in recent trade agreements.

This could result in issues for the dairy sector, as the federal agency is discouraging consumers from drinking more milk or eating dairy products with the updated food guide.

In contrast, according to Health Canada, scientists have argued that humans have no nutritional requirement for animal milk. They add that a “planetary diet”, which is low in red meat and high in legumes, could save lives and the planet.

“We were very clear that when we were looking at the evidence base that we were not going to be using reports that have been funded by industry as well,” said Hutchinson, who acknowledged the “fair amount of criticism” over industry influence in the making of the 2007 guide.

During the two rounds of public consultations prior to revising the food guide, Health Canada met with industry for their input. Yet, Health Canada made a commitment to not meet with industry during the food guide revision process.

“We have a federal agency that doesn’t necessarily endorse the nutritional role of dairy products as much as they used to,” Sylvain Charlebois, professor in food distribution and policy at Dalhousie University said.

“It’s really about nutrition and quality of life, much more so than providing a pamphlet for Canadian agriculture.”

The updated food guide comes with online resources such as videos, recipes and lifestyle advice.